Friday, October 20
D.J. Sokol Arena
12:00 PM
Creighton University
vs
St. John's
Taryn Kloth
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Volleyball Reaches Midpoint Of League Play With Homestand Against Red Storm; Pirates
10/17/2017 10:58:00 AM | Volleyball
Friday is Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day while Sunday is the program's annual Pink Out
Download Notes as a PDF
This Weekend
Oct. 20 12:00 pm St. John's at #16 Creighton (FSGO) Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
Oct. 22 1:00 pm Seton Hall at #16 Creighton (FSGO) (1180 AM KZOT) (Pink Out) Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
This Weekend
Just one-half game out of first place in the BIG EAST standings, No. 16 Creighton (14-5, 7-1 BIG EAST) hosts a pair of league matches this weekend.
On Friday at 12 p.m., the Bluejays will welcome St. John's (11-13, 3-6 BIG EAST) for a rare 12 p.m. weekday start. The match is Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day.
On Sunday at 1 p.m., Creighton hosts its annual Pink Out match when it faces Seton Hall (12-10, 6-3 BIG EAST).
Both matches this weekend will take place at D.J. Sokol Arena (2,500) in Omaha, Neb.
Creighton vs. Cancer
Creighton will wear its alternate pink jerseys on Sunday as part of the program's annual breast cancer awareness day, and invites its fans to also wear pink that afternoon.
This will be the 11th time that Creighton has had a "Pink Out" at home under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 9-1 in those matches, including nine straight wins.
Creighton's Home Pink Out History
10/20/07 Northern Iowa, L 0-3
10/17/08 Evansville, W 3-0
10/24/09 Indiana State, W 3-0
10/29/10 Indiana State, W 3-0
10/22/11 Evansville, W 3-0
10/27/12 Southern Illinois, W 3-1
10/20/13 Butler, W 3-1
10/24/14 Marquette, W 3-1
10/09/15 DePaul, W 3-2
10/16/16 Seton Hall, W 3-0
Radio Information
Friday's match will not be broadcast on radio.
Sunday's match vs. Seton Hall will air on KZOT (1180 AM), with Brad Burwell and Erin Swanson Russell on the call.
The contest can also be heard on-line at http://player.listenlive.co/52381.
Video Information
Both matches this weekend will be video webcast at no charge via the FOX Sports Go app or http://www.foxsportsgo.com. Brad Burwell and Erin Swanson Russell will call Friday's action, while Donny Baarns and Jon Schriner will announce Sunday's match-up.
Live Stats Information
Both of Creighton's matches this weekend will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Creighton Volleyball schedule page for the exact links.
Scouting #16 Creighton
Creighton is off to a 14-5 this fall and second in the BIG EAST with a 7-1 league mark. The Bluejays have won 35 of their last 36 matches against teams from the BIG EAST and are chasing their fourth straight regular-season and tournament league titles.
Creighton reached as high as seventh in the AVCA Top 25 poll during a strong non-conference season that featured three wins over ranked teams (then-No. 3 Washington, No. 7 Kansas, No. 13 Kentucky). Eight of the 11 teams on Creighton's non-conference schedule are ranked this week.
Four Bluejays were named Preseason All-BIG EAST, a group that features libero Brittany Witt (4.12 dps.), Jaali Winters (3.42 kps.), Taryn Kloth (3.02 kps.) and 2016 BIG EAST Player of the Year Lydia Dimke (10.79 aps., 2.58 dps., .396%).
Marysa Wilkinson (3.05 kps., 0.95 bps., .382%) was snubbed in the preseason voting by league coaches, but you can be sure she'll attract postseason acclaim. The senior is hitting a robust .469 in league play with just eight attack errors in eight conference contests.
The Bluejays average 14.32 kills, 15.85 digs, 2.11 blocks and 1.20 aces per set while hitting .277.
Scouting St. John's
St. John's is 11-13 on the season, including a 3-6 league mark.
Julia Cast tops the offense with 4.01 kills per set, while Hanna Wagner averages 1.94 kills per set but hits a robust .369.
Wagner's 1.02 blocks per set, paired with Danisha Moss' 1.27 blocks per set, help make the Johnnies one of the league's top blocking teams.
Running the Red Storm offense is preseason All-BIG EAST selection Erica Di Maulo, who averages 10.45 assists per set and also owns a team-high 18 aces.
St. John's averages 12.57 kills, 1.10 aces, 14.74 digs and 2.55 blocks per set on .209 hitting.
Scouting Seton Hall
Seton Hall is 12-10 on the season and tied for third in the BIG EAST with a 6-3 league mark after winning 5-of-6 matches since a loss to Creighton on Sept. 29.
Abby Thelen leads Seton Hall with 3.82 kills per set while taking 29.4 percent of the Pirate swings. Dominique Mason has provided a lift in league play, averaging 3.31 kills and 3.55 digs per set against BIG EAST competition.
Sarah Kenneweg tops The Hall with 3.65 digs and 0.16 service aces per set and Sophia Coffey (5.59 aps.) and Maggie Cvelbar (4.45 aps.) share setting duties.
As a team, Seton Hall averages 12.63 kills, 0.82 aces, 14.74 digs and 2.08 blocks per set on .206 hitting.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 305-158 record in her 15th season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to back-to-back-to-back BIG EAST titles, and four league crowns in the last five years. She has led the Bluejays to their first two Sweet 16's (2015, 2016) and first Elite Eight (2016) in program history. In 2016 she was recognized as VolleyballMag.com National Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Coach of the Year and AVCA East Region Coach of the Year.
The winningest coach in school history, Booth has taken Creighton to its only six NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also coached the Jays into the top-25 each of the last six years, another program first.
Booth came to Creighton after going 112-41 in three years at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A native of Lincoln, Neb., Booth played volleyball at Truman State, where she was named conference MVP, an Academic All-American and Missouri's 1997 NCAA Woman of the Year. She ranked third in Division II history with 6,077 assists when she graduated.
Booth is assisted by Angie Oxley Behrens, Ryan Meek and Drew Davis.
The longest-tenured female coach in school history, Joanne Persico (Syracuse, 1987) owns a 451-313 record in her 24th year at St. John's. She has led the Red Storm to eight 20-win seasons, three BIG EAST regular-season titles, two NCAA Tournaments and a Sweet 16 berth in 2007. She is assisted by Mario Treibit and Bryan Weber.
Allison Yaeger (Wright State, 2003) owns a 104-75 mark in her sixth year at Seton Hall. In 2014 she led the Pirates to their best season since 1994 as SHU went 28-8 and reached the NCAA's, earning her BIG EAST Coach of the Year laurels in the process. She is assisted by Allie Matters.
Series History vs. St. John's
Creighton leads the all-time series with St. John's by an 8-1 margin, including a 3-1 record in Omaha.
St. John's lone win in the series came in 2013 in Omaha, as the Red Storm handed Creighton its first five-set home loss inside D.J. Sokol Arena. Since then, Creighton has won the last eight meetings in the series, winning 24-of-28 sets.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 8-1 vs. St. John's and coach Joanne Persico.
Series History vs. Seton Hall
Creighton is 8-3 all-time against Seton Hall, and 3-1 in Omaha.
The Pirates are the only BIG EAST team to beat Creighton multiple times since the start of the 2014 season, with CU going 7-2 against the Pirates and 55-2 against everyone else.
Seton Hall is also the only conference team to sweep the Bluejays in Omaha since 2012.
Creighton swept all three meetings a year ago against Seton Hall, outscoring the Pirates 225-146. Creighton also swept SHU in South Orange last month.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 8-3 all-time against Seton Hall and coach Allison Yaeger.
Last Weekend Recap
Creighton won matches against both Butler (3-2) and Xavier (3-0) last weekend, averaging 20.38 digs and 17.12 kills per set while hitting .319 in two victories. Jaali Winters had 42 kills and Brittany Witt added 49 digs to pace the victors.
(Red) Storm Warning
Creighton and St. John's have locked up in some memorable matches since 2013. In both 2013 and 2014, the teams played a five-set match, with the road team winning both times.
St. John's has won the first set in 3-of-9 all-time meetings, but the team to win the second set has won all nine contests.
Hall Pass
Creighton has won 17 straight sets against Seton Hall, outscoring The Hall 426-303. The Pirates scored more than 19 points in just six of those 17 sets.
Creighton has outblocked SHU 54.5 - 21.5 in those 17 sets, and out-aced the Pirates 26-8.
As seen in the chart below, the team with more aces in the Creighton/Seton Hall series is 11-0 all-time, while the team with more blocks is 10-0-1 all-time in the series.
Date Result Aces Blocks 11/03/13 CU 3-0 CU 3-1 CU 12.5-8.0
11/16/13 SHU 3-1 SHU 6-2 SHU 16.0-14.0
10/10/14 SHU 3-2 SHU 9-3 SHU 22.0-14.0
11/23/14 SHU 3-0 SHU 2-0 SHU 13.0-7.0
11/29/14 CU 3-1 CU 2-0 CU 18.0-8.0
09/25/15 CU 3-1 CU 5-5 CU 11.0-8.0
10/31/15 CU 3-0 CU 4-2 CU 9.0-6.0
10/16/16 CU 3-0 CU 3-1 CU 13.0-3.0
10/28/16 CU 3-0 CU 5-1 CU 11.0-2.0
11/25/16 CU 3-0 CU 6-0 CU 7.0-4.0
09/29/17 CU 3-0 CU 4-0 CU 7.5-2.5
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 258-9 (.966) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 201-3 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU has won 34 straight when up 2-0, and is 128-1 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009.
Conversely, the Jays are 13-191 (.064) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, but did have three comeback victories in 2015 and another one on Oct. 13, 2017 vs. Butler.
Those 13 comebacks in program history from down 0-2 are listed below.
Date Opponent Sets 3-5 scores Coach
09/19/97 at Bradley 15-11, 15-13, 15-8 Wallace
10/01/99 at Drake 15-6, 17-15, 15-11 Wallace
09/03/04 vs. Montana 30-20, 30-21, 15-11 Booth
10/15/04 at Bradley 30-22, 30-23, 15-11 Booth
10/15/05 at So. Illinois 30-25, 30-24, 15-8 Booth
09/21/07 at No. Iowa 31-29, 30-26, 15-12 Booth
11/16/12 at Wichita St. 25-16, 25-20, 16-14 Booth
09/05/14 vs. No. Iowa 25-16, 25-22, 15-5 Booth
11/08/14 at Butler 25-16, 25-20, 15-13 Booth
09/20/15 Kansas State 25-23, 26-24, 15-13 Booth
10/09/15 DePaul 25-21, 25-12, 15-11 Booth
11/20/15 at Georgetown 30-28, 26-24, 15-7 Booth
10/13/17 Butler 25-21, 25-23, 15-9 Booth
Fire Alarm Didn't Stop The Jays
The last time Creighton met up with St. John's, the Bluejays had their sweep of the Red Storm delayed with CU just three points from victory.
Why? Because a fire alarm went off in Carnesecca Arena, causing the facility to be evacuated for a 15-minute delay.
The Red Storm and Bluejays student-athletes spent that time talking to each other and even posed for a quick picture.
Upon resumption of the match, Creighton won three of the next five points to complete the 25-15, 25-20, 25-19 victory.
Matinee Madness
Creighton's match on Friday has an unusual start time of 12 p.m. due to the athletic department's 31st Annual Bluejay Jamboree that will be held on Friday evening.
Creighton has not previously hosted a regular-season match to start before 4 p.m. on a weekday since D.J. Sokol Arena opened in 2009.
Wilkinson Wows 'Em
Marysa Wilkinson is hitting .469 in league matches, committing just eight attack errors in 175 swings thus far.
Wilkinson owns 39 kills and just one error in her last three matches, which spans 68 swings (.559).
The BIG EAST record for hitting percentage in a conference since is .481 by Notre Dame's Ashley Tartutis in 2007.
No player has finished hitting .435 or better in BIG EAST action since Cincinnati's Jessie Nevitt hit .461 in 2008.
Marquette's Jenna Rosenthal is currently hitting .477 and also making a run at the record.
100, 200, 300, 398
Creighton owns a 398-310 record since its 1994 reinstatement, and can earn its 400th win with two victories this weekend.
Here's a look at Creighton's record at the time of some of its milestone victories:
W-L Opponent Date 1-0 vs. Chattanooga 09/02/94
25-57 Wichita State 11/15/96
50-91 Southern Illinois 09/10/99
75-112 at Evansville 11/04/00
100-160 at Bradley 10/04/03
125-182 vs. UC Riverside 09/02/05
150-197 Drake 09/22/06
175-213 at Indiana State 10/26/07
200-224 Texas Tech 08/28/09
225-239 Bradley 09/25/10
250-263 Wichita State 11/04/11
275-270 Illinois State 11/10/12
300-278 Georgetown 11/22/13
325-287 at St. John's 11/15/14
350-297 Butler 11/15/15
375-304 Xavier 11/06/16
398-310 so far....
Higher And Higher
Creighton set five D.J. Sokol Arena records in last Friday's 3-2 comeback win over Butler.
Creighton's 84 kills were a facility record, the third-most of any team in the nation this fall, and the most by any BIG EAST team in a league match since Seton Hall had 84 kills at Marquette on Nov. 9, 2007 when sets were played to 30 points. The 84 kills were the most by a CU team since the Bluejays posted 86 at Evansville on Nov. 4, 2000.
Creighton's 79 assists were a facility record, the third-most of any team in the nation this fall, and the most by any BIG EAST team in a league match since Seton Hall had 79 assists at Marquette on Nov. 9, 2007 when sets were played to 30 points. It was also the most by a CU team since the Jays had 79 assists at Wichita State on Oct. 13, 2006.
Creighton also established facility records for attack attempts (216), digs (106) and points (96.0).
Jaali Winters' 28 kills were tied for third-most in Creighton history for one match, equalled her previous high, and were also the most ever by a Bluejay inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
Lydia Dimke's 65 assists were a career-high the most by any BIG EAST player in a match this season, and the most by a Bluejay since Korie Lebeda had 71 on Nov. 18, 2006 at Evansville.
Reaching The Halfway Point
Creighton is 7-1 in BIG EAST play and will reach the mid-point of the league slate on Friday against St. John's.
With a win, Creighton would start 8-1 or better for the fourth straight season, and fifth time in six seasons.
Each of the last four times CU has been 8-1 or better halfway through the league schedule, the Bluejays have won both the regular-season and league tournament titles.
League Record by Year
Year 1st Half 2nd Half Place
1994 2-8 1-9 T-9th MVC
1995 3-7 3-7 T-7th MVC
1996 2-7 3-6 T-6th MVC
1997 6-3 4-5 T-3rd MVC
1998 2-7 3-6 8th MVC
1999 5-4 4-5 5th MVC
2000 5-4 5-4 T-4th MVC
2001 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2002 1-8 1-8 T-9th MVC
2003 5-4 4-5 T-5th MVC
2004 5-4 5-4 5th MVC
2005 4-5 6-3 5th MVC
2006 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2007 7-2 7-2 T-2nd MVC
2008 7-2 8-1 2nd MVC
2009 4-5 6-3 T-4th MVC
2010 7-2 6-3 3rd MVC
2011 6-3 6-3 4th MVC
2012 8-1 9-0 1st MVC
2013 6-2 6-2 T-2nd BIG EAST
2014 8-1 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2015 9-0 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2016 9-0 9-0 1st BIG EAST
2017 7-1 so far 0-0 so far TBD
Total 132-84 122-86 --
Home Sweet Home
Creighton went 10-0 at home last season in BIG EAST play, the third time (joining 2012 and 2015) in the previous five years it was unbeaten at home in league play.
Creighton is 38-2 all-time (.950) in regular-season BIG EAST play at D.J. Sokol Arena, falling once each to St. John's (2013) and Seton Hall (2014).
Since D.J. Sokol Arena opened in 2009, Creighton is 69-7 (.908) all-time in regular-season conference matches in the facility, including 23 straight victories.
Creighton has won all eight meetings with St. John's since that 2013 upset, and all seven encounters versus Seton Hall since dropping the home match in 2014.
The Bluejays have had a winning record in conference home matches each of the previous 11 seasons. That streak that dates back to its days at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, a site that was torn down last winter and no longer exists.
BEDN Brings Out The Best In the Bluejays
Last Friday marked Creighton's second of four scheduled appearances this fall on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
Since the network originated in 2014, Creighton is a perfect 17-0 on BEDN. Five of those victories came in five sets.
Creighton next returns to BEDN on Nov. 11 at Xavier.
Middles Are All Right
The numbers would suggest that Creighton dominated the middle in its Oct. 6 win at DePaul. CU's four middle blockers and right-side hitters that saw action combined for 27 kills without an attack error in 40 swings. That's good for a .675 hitting percentage.
Marysa Wilkinson had 10 kills on 12 swings, Megan Ballenger had nine kills on 12 swings, Naomi Hickman had six kills on 11 swings and Kelsey O'Connell added two kills on five swings.
First Set Is Key
The winner in 19 of Creighton's last 20 matches has been the team that won the first set of the match, and the Bluejays have won 32 in a row when going up 1-0 in a match.
This fall, Creighton is 13-0 when winning the first set and 1-5 when losing the first set. St. John's is 9-4 when winning the first set and 2-9 when losing the first set. Seton Hall is 9-2 when winning the first set and 3-8 when losing the first set.
Creighton is 12-2 when winning the second set and 2-3 when dropping the second set. St. John's is 11-0 when winning the second set and 0-13 when losing the second set. Seton Hall is 10-1 when winning the second set and 2-9 when losing the second set.
Creighton is 12-1 when winning the third set and 2-4 when losing the third set. St. John's is 9-2 when winning the third set and 2-11 when losing the third set. Seton Hall is 9-1 when winning the third set and 3-9 when losing the third set.
Creighton is 1-1 in five-set matches. St. John's is 1-3 in five-set matches. Seton Hall is 3-3 in five-set matches.
Best...Set...Ever...
Creighton responded from its first league loss since 2015 with authority, hitting a school-record .818 in the first set of an Oct. 6 win at DePaul.
CU had 18 kills without an attack error in 22 swings to hit that .818, which surpassed hte previous best mark of .722 in the fifth set of a win at Georgetown on Nov. 20, 2015.
Creighton's previous best mark in a non-deciding set had been .684 (13-0-19) in the second set vs. Eastern Illinois on Oct. 15, 2000, and Creighton's previous best mark in a set to 25 had been .654 (18-1-26) in the third set vs. Bradley on Sept. 25, 2010.
Best Team Hitting Percentage in a Set
% K-E-TA Opponent (Set #) Date
.818 18-0-22 at DePaul (1) 10/06/17
.722 13-0-18 at Georgetown (5) 11/20/15
.714 10-0-14 vs. Northern Iowa (5) 09/05/14
.684 13-0-19 Eastern Illinois (2) 10/15/00
.682 15-0-22 Tulsa (3) 10/27/95
Among The Best Matches Ever, Too
Creighton didn't let up after hitting .818 in the first set, as the team hit .476 for the entire match against DePaul on Oct. 6.
The .476 output ranks as the third-best mark in program history for a match, and is the third occasion this fall the team has hit .440 or better. Prior to 2017, Creighton had done that just three times total from 1994-2016.
Below is the top hitting percentages in a match in Bluejay history:
Best Attack Percentage, Match
.536 vs. Tulsa (41-4-69) 10-27-95
.495 vs. Liberty (57-8-99) 9-2-05
.476 at DePaul (46-6-84) 10-6-17
.471 vs. Providence (36-4-68) 10-19-14
.4463 vs. Georgetown (62-8-121) 9-22-17
.4459 vs. Belmont (38-5-74) 9-8-17
.418 vs. Evansville (98-21-184) 11-2-96
.415 vs. Butler (47-8-94) 11-4-16
.4144 vs. UC-Riverside (57-11-111) 9-2-05
.4141 vs. Drake (49-8-99) 10-3-08
Dimke Passes 2000
Lydia Dimke owns 2,069 assists in 53 career matches played at Creighton, after passing 2,000 assists in her 52nd career match on Oct. 13 vs. Butler.
Dimke is the seventh player to reach 2,000 assists at Creighton, and fourth-quickest to get there.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 2,000 Assists (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Korie Lebeda 43 09/22/06 Drake
Brittany Coleman 45 10/02/04 Southern Illinois
Kailey Reyes 49 09/01/00 at Iowa State
Lydia Dimke 52 10/13/17 Butler
Megan Bober 55 11/05/10 at Wichita State
Melissa Weisensee 66 09/15/96 at UMKC
Michelle Sicner 109 11/23/14 Seton Hall
Dimke Hitting With Accuracy, Too
Lydia Dimke split time between outside hitter and setter while at Purdue, and since transferring to Creighton she's made an impact in both areas.
Dimke is one of seven players in program history to reach 2,000 career assists at CU.
As an attacker, Dimke is hitting .396 in all matches and .403 in league play.
Dimke is on pace to approach the career hitting percentage at Creighton, which requires 250 career kills. Dimke is hitting .332 and owns 228 career kills, which puts her in range of Kelli Browning's mark of .335.
Below is a list of the top hitting percentages in CU history among those with 250 or more career kills:
Career Attack Percentage (Min. 250 kills)
Name K E Att. Pct. Year
1. Kelli Browning 1,104 325 2,327 .335 2011-14
2. Lauren Smith 1,160 365 2,460 .323 2013-16
3. Marysa Wilkinson 1,044 273 2,473 .312 2014-Pr.
4. Kelly Goc 1,414 414 3,374 .296 2004-07
5. Megan Ballenger 317 107 716 .293 2015-Pr.
6. Ashley Williams 941 279 2,336 .283 2001-04
7. Melissa Weisensee 389 122 970 .2753 1994-97
8. Kailey Reyes 398 100 1,083 .2752 1998-01
9. Laurel Sanford 761 245 1,907 .271 2008-11
10. Megan Bober 833 266 2,177 .260 2009-12
Blue October
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton has been a solid 47-25 in September, only to take it up a notch in October. CU is 41-5 in October in that same span, and an even better 39-4 in the month of November.
Creighton has won 23 straight home matches in the month of October dating to a Oct. 15, 2011 loss to No. 12 Northern Iowa.
Since the start of the 2014 season, Creighton is a combined 52-4 in the months of October and November.
Champions Clash
Since the reconfiguration of the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, Creighton and Marquette are the only teams to win any sort of BIG EAST volleyball title.
Marquette won the regular-season and tournament title in 2013, while Creighton swept both titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
The 2017 season has seen more of the same, as the teams hold down the top two spots in the standings.
Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team (through Oct. 19) since the league's reconfiguration in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings Since 2013 (thru 10/19)
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (4) 70 8 118 39
Marquette (4) 62 17 109 41
Xavier 53 26 85 64
Seton Hall (1) 46 33 86 65
Butler 45 34 91 57
Villanova (1) 39 40 81 66
St. John's 31 48 80 73
DePaul 16 63 56 86
Georgetown 16 63 44 99
Providence* 8 54 44 77
*Providence rejoined the league for volleyball in 2014 and
its 2013 overall record (12-20) is not included above.
Success In The BIG EAST
Creighton is 31-1 in its last 32 and 48-2 in its last 50 matches against teams from the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays have an active winning streak of four or longer against each school in the BIG EAST Conference except Marquette, as seen below.
Team Series History Current CU Streak
Butler CU 8-1 Won Last 8
DePaul CU 9-1 Won Last 9
Georgetown CU 9-0 Won Last 9
Marquette CU 11-4 Lost 1
Providence CU 6-0 Won Last 6
Seton Hall CU 8-3 Won Last 7
St. John's CU 8-1 Won Last 8
Villanova CU 9-1 Won Last 4
Xavier CU 12-0 Won Last 12
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning record against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays enter Friday with 77 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 13 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
Seton Hall is the only league foe to top the Bluejays three times since 2013.
Opponent Reg. Season BE Tourney Total
Butler 8-1 - 8-1
DePaul 9-0 - 9-0
Georgetown 9-0 - 9-0
Marquette 7-2 1-1 8-3
Providence 6-0 - 6-0
Seton Hall 6-3 2-0 8-3
St. John's 8-1 - 8-1
Villanova 8-1 1-0 9-1
Xavier 9-0 3-0 12-0
Total 70-8 7-1 77-9
Climbing The List
Kirsten Bernthal Booth became Creighton Volleyball's winningest coach in the program's modern history on August 26, 2007, and hasn't let up.
Booth won her 300th match at CU on Sept. 24 vs. Villanova, and now owns 305 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank sixth in school history across all sports.
Coach, Sport Victories
Brent Vigness, Softball 729*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Ed Servais, Baseball 483*
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 402*
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball 327
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 305*
*still active coaching at Creighton
Better And Better and Better...
Senior Marysa Wilkinson owns 201 kills this season, becoming the sixth player in CU history with 200 or more kills in each of her first four seasons on campus.
Junior Jaali Winters is one of eight players to accomplish the feat in each of her first three seasons with the Bluejays.
200 or More Kills, First 3 Seasons
Name (Years) Fr. So. Jr. Sr. Total
Melissa Walsh, 1998-01 341 428 435 392 1,596
Kelly Goc, 2004-07 218 345 437 414 1,414
JoDe Cieloha, 1994-97 271 303 380 421 1,375
Lauren Smith, 2013-16 271 278 331 280 1,160
Marysa Wilkinson, 2014-17 236 286 321 201 1,044
Shelly Kapler, 1996-99 237 283 265 215 1,000
Jess Bird, 2013-16 297 231 350 87 965
Jaali Winters, 2015-Pr. 546 448 226 - 1,220
Spike Town
Jaali Winters enters Friday with 1,220 career kills, good for seventh-most in Creighton history. Winters recently surpassed former teammate Lauren Smith (1,160) to move into seventh place.
Here's a look at Creighton's top-12 in career kills, which includes teammate Marysa Wilkinson's 1,044 kills that rank 11th.
Most Career Kills, Creighton History
Name Sets No. Years
1. Leah Ratzlaff 409 1,622 2002-05
2. Melissa Walsh 394 1,596 1998-01
3. Kelly Goc 394 1,414 2004-07
4. Jessica Houts 451 1,385 2005-09
5. JoDe Cieloha 398 1,375 1994-97
6. Leah McNary 458 1,257 2011-14
7. Jaali Winters 324 1,220 2015-Pr.
8. Lauren Smith 511 1,160 2013-16
9. Allie Oelke 445 1,126 2007-10
10. Kelli Browning 424 1,104 2011-14
11. Marysa Wilkinson 447 1,044 2014-Pr.
12. Amanda Cvejdlik 343 1,029 2005-08
Wilkinson Reaches 1,000 Kills
Marysa Wilkinson reached 1,000 career kills in her 120th career match after reaching the milestone in the third set of a 3-0 win at St. John's on Oct. 30th.
Earlier this season teammate Jaali Winters needed just 72 career matches to reach 1,000 career kills, becoming the second-fastest player in school history to reach the 1,000 kill milestone. Creighton Athletics Hall of Famer Melissa Walsh reached 1,000 career kills in 70 matches in 2000.
Wilkinson and Winters join Jessica Houts and Amanda Cvejdlik (in 2008) as the only Bluejay teammates to reach 1,000 career kills in the same season in history.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Melissa Walsh 70 10/15/00 Eastern Illinois
Jaali Winters 72 08/25/17 vs. Saint Mary's
Leah Ratzlaff 76 10/22/04 Missouri State
JoDe Cieloha 83 09/13/97 at Drake
Kelly Goc 87 11/24/06 vs. Northern Iowa
Jessica Houts 90 11/08/08 Illinois State
Leah McNary 96 09/12/14 Pepperdine
Amanda Cvejdlik 99 11/15/08 at Evansville
Shelly Kapler 103 11/18/99 vs. Missouri State
Allie Oelke 107 10/09/10 Wichita State
Kelli Browning 110 10/26/14 DePaul
Lauren Smith 119 10/07/16 at Villanova
Marysa Wilkinson 120 09/30/17 at St. John's
Streak Snapped at 28 Straight
Until an Oct. 5 loss at Marquette, Creighton had won each of its last 28 regular-season matches in BIG EAST play. That ranked as the third-longest volleyball streak in league history.
Former league member Notre Dame owns each of the two longest marks.
Most Consecutive Regular-Season BIG EAST League Wins
Wins School Dates Snapped By
45 Notre Dame Oct. 1, 1999-Nov. 9, 2002 at Miami (Fla.), 3-2
35 Notre Dame Sept. 30, 1995-Oct. 4, 1998 at UConn, 3-2
28 Creighton Oct. 31, 2015-Present at Marquette, 3-0
24 Louisville Oct. 1, 2006-Nov. 9, 2007 at Notre Dame, 3-1
Select Company
Creighton and Marquette are two of 21 teams nationally to have appeared in each of the previous five NCAA Tournaments. That group features BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Penn State, San Diego, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, USC and Washington.
Creighton is one of 10 teams in the country that has been to the Sweet 16 each of the last two seasons, a list that consists of BYU, Creighton, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas, UCLA, Washington and Wisconsin.
Creighton is also one of just 10 schools nationally who have won 23 matches or more in each of the previous five seasons (2012-16). That group consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Western Kentucky.
RPI Stands At 13th
Creighton ranks 13th in the Oct. 16 official NCAA RPI rankings. The mark is the best in the BIG EAST (Marquette is second-best at 36),
Creighton was eighth in the inaugural NCAA rankings that came out on October 2nd, just shy of the program's best RPI ever of fifth on Oct. 21, 2013.
Contrary to popular opinion, Creighton's RPI has typically improved in recent years during BIG EAST play.
In 2016, Creighton was 29th during the initial RPI release on Oct. 3 and improved to 17th by Selection Sunday on Nov. 28th after an 18-0 league record.
In 2015, Creighton was 20th during the initial RPI release on Oct. 5 and improved to 15th by Selection Sunday on Nov. 30th after a 17-1 league record.
In 2014, Creighton was 41st during the initial RPI release on Oct. 6 and improved to 24th by Selection Sunday on Dec. 1 after a 16-2 league record.
In 2013, Creighton was 10th during the initial RPI release on Oct. 7 and dropped to 16th by Selection Sunday on Dec. 2 after a 12-4 league finish.
Wilkinson Named Defensive Player of Week
Marysa Wilkinson was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, Oct. 3. It's her second such honor this fall, joining the recognition she received on August 29.
In addition to 3.17 kills per set on .444 hitting, Wilkinson averaged 1.67 blocks per set as Creighton swept matches at both Seton Hall and St. John's. Wilkinson's 10 blocks were twice as many as Creighton's opponents, combined, on the weekend.
She began her weekend with 13 kills in 20 swings, hitting .600, as Creighton swept Seton Hall. She added two blocks and a pair of digs.
On Saturday at St. John's, Wilkinson tied her career-high with eight blocks while also providing six kills on .250 hitting. Her sixth kill gave Creighton a 23-17 lead in the third set and made her the 13th Bluejay in school history to reach 1,000 career kills.
Dimke Up For Senior CLASS Award
Lydia Dimke is among 30 student-athletes who excel both on and off the court that were selected today as candidates for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate volleyball. Dimke was the BIG EAST's only representative to make the initial cut.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
A setter from Ham Lake, Minn., Dimke averages 10.79 assists, 2.58 digs, 1.44 kills and 0.72 blocks per set while hitting .396. She was named 2017 Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year this fall after ending last year with BIG EAST Player of the Year accolades. She was also named a Third Team All-American by the AVCA last season after helping the Bluejays to the Elite Eight.
A two-time team captain, Dimke has performed more than 25 hours of community service since arriving at Creighton. She's been active with Welcome Week, performed a clinic for children, visits local schools to read, spoke and helped at the Mustang March at Mary Our Queen, and has helped feed the homeless. In the classroom, she earned a spot on Creighton's Dean's List in the Fall of 2016, when she was also leading Creighton to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. She also landed a spot on the BIG EAST All-Academic Team in 2016-17 and was named Academic All-Big Ten in 2015-16 as a student-athlete at Purdue. Dimke is a communication studies major.
Dimke is the latest in a long line of Creighton Volleyball student-athletes to make the Senior CLASS cut in recent seasons, as Jess Bird and Lauren Smith were candidates in 2016, with Smith ending the fall as a Senior CLASS All-American. Other past volleyball candidates include Melanie Jereb in 2015, Kelli Browning in 2014 and Megan Bober in 2012. Former Creighton men's soccer goalkeeper Brian Holt won the 2011 Senior CLASS Award on the pitch, while ex-Creighton men's basketball standout Doug McDermott won the 2014 Senior CLASS Award on the hardwood.
Any Venue Will Do
Since joining the BIG EAST, Creighton has a .500 record or better at every BIG EAST venue in which it has played.
Site Creighton W-L
D.J. Sokol Arena (CU) 56-11
Carnesecca Arena (SJU) 5-0
McGrath-Phillips Arena (DPU) 5-0
Hinkle Fieldhouse (BU) 5-1
Al McGuire Center (MU) 5-2
Cintas Center (XU) 4-0
McDonough Arena (GU) 4-0
Alumni Hall (PC) 3-0
Jake Nevin Field House (VU) 3-1
Walsh Gym (SHU) 3-2
Booth Earns 300th Win at Creighton
Kirsten Bernthal Booth enters this weekend with a 305-158 record on the Creighton sideline, having reached the 300 win milestone against Villanova on Sept. 24.
Booth has beaten 83 different schools while at Creighton.
Here's a look at Booth's record at the time of some of her milestone victories at Creighton:
W-L Opponent Date 1-1 vs. Auburn (in Ames, Iowa) 08/30/03
50-43 Jacksonville State 09/01/06
100-71 at Drake 10/31/08
150-108 Illinois State 09/30/11
200-123 Xavier 10/18/13
250-144 at Xavier 10/17/15
300-157 Villanova 09/24/17
BIG EAST Preseason Poll
For the fifth straight season, Creighton was picked to win the BIG EAST Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches.
CU was a unanimous choice for the fourth straight season, receiving 81 points after earning all nine possible first-place votes. Butler was picked second, while Marquette was third and earned the remaining first-place vote.
Creighton also had four women named to the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team, as Lydia Dimke, Taryn Kloth, Jaali Winters and Brittany Witt were all honored. Dimke was selected as Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year.
Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of them or better in the preseason poll in 12 of the past 14 years, including seven years where it's finished exactly where it was picked.
Year Preseason Pick Finish Move
1994 11th 9th #2
1995 9th 7th #2
1996 9th 6th #3
1997 8th 3rd #5
1998 6th 8th i2
1999 T-7th 5th #2
2000 4th T-4th - -
2001 2nd 4th i2
2002 7th 9th i2
2003 9th T-5th #4
2004 5th 5th - -
2005 5th 5th - -
2006 4th 4th - -
2007 3rd T-2nd #1
2008 3rd 2nd #1
2009 4th T-4th - -
2010 4th 3rd #1
2011 3rd 4th i1
2012 4th 1st #3
2013 1st T-2nd i1
2014 1st 1st - -
2015 1st 1st - -
2016 1st 1st - -
2017 1st ??? ???
Home At Home
Creighton has won 25 straight home matches against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) at D.J. Sokol Arena, and is 30-1 in its last 31 matches against all teams at home.
Below is a look at the program's largest home win streaks in history against all opponents.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
13 Sept. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013 California, 3-0
13 Sept. 9, 2016 - Sept. 1, 2017 #18 USC
12 Sept. 20 - Nov. 28, 2015 #4 Kansas, 3-2
9 Sept. 20, 2014-Nov. 21, 2014 Seton Hall, 3-0
8 Sept. 25-Nov. 20, 2010 Northern Illinois, 3-0
3 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Creighton has won each of the last three BIG EAST regular-season titles.
St. John's had been the last BIG EAST team to win a share of three straight titles, having done so from 2006-08, while Notre Dame had been the last team to win three or more straight outright BIG EAST regular-season titles, having claimed four in a row from 1999-2002.
No team has won four straight regular-season titles (including shares) since Notre Dame won seven in a row from 1999-2005.
Sweep City
Creighton swept 14-of-18 BIG EAST matches last fall, with three matches to end 3-1 and one contest that went 3-2. This year's team has won 21-of-28 league sets played this season.
Creighton has swept 14 of its last 19 regular-season BIG EAST home matches, and won 60 of its last 67 home sets during conference play.
Creighton is 70-8 in 78 regular-season BIG EAST matches in its five-year history in the league, with 41 sweeps, including 28 of its last 43 matches.
Since October 31, 2015, Creighton has won 105-of-122 sets against league foes (including conference tournament action).
Crowded House
Creighton's crowd of 2,578 on Sept. 1st vs. No. 13 Kentucky was the second sellout in program history. It was also largest attendance at D.J. Sokol Arena, and the fifth-largest at any home venue.
In fact, all seven home crowds this season have ranked among the top-23 in school history, as seen by the chart below.
Creighton has averaged 1,856 fans per home match this season, which ranks 20th nationally. No one else in the BIG EAST averages more than 1,000 fans per home match.
Largest Home Crowds, Creighton History
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3 CenturyLink
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3 CenturyLink
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CenturyLink
8,037 #2 Nebraska 10/05/08 L 0-3 CenturyLink
2,578 #13 Kentucky 09/01/17 W 3-0 Sokol
2,514 #7 Nebraska 08/31/10 L 0-3 Sokol
2,325 Northern Iowa 10/05/12 W 3-1 Sokol
2,285 Texas Tech 08/28/09 W 3-0 Sokol
2,135 Bradley 10/14/11 W 3-1 Sokol
2,109 Marquette 10/13/13 W 3-0 Sokol
2,084 #18 USC 09/02/17 L 0-3 Sokol
2,067 Villanova 11/21/14 W 3-0 Sokol
1,918 St. John's 10/17/14 W 3-0 Sokol
1,913 Xavier 11/13/15 W 3-0 Sokol
1,832 Xavier 10/18/13 W 3-2 Sokol
1,725 Northern Iowa 09/02/17 W 3-0 Sokol
1,695 Xavier 10/15/17 W 3-0 Sokol
1,671 Seton Hall 10/16/16 W 3-0 Sokol
1,667 Marquette 09/23/16 W 3-0 Sokol
1,667 Villanova 09/24/17 W 3-1 Sokol
1,644 Villanova 11/20/16 W 3-2 Sokol
1,637 Georgetown 09/22/17 W 3-1 Sokol
1,605 Butler 10/13/17 W 3-2 Sokol
1,583 Villanova 11/28/15 W 3-0 Sokol
1,557 Northern Iowa 11/21/08 W 3-0 Civic
1,544 Wichita State 09/15/12 W 3-1 Sokol
1,493 Wichita State 11/04/11 W 3-2 Sokol
Challenging Schedule
The NCAA website tracks the nation's toughest schedules played.
Entering this week, Creighton's opponents this year have gone 234-127 when not facing CU. That .648 winning percentage is the 13th-best mark of any school in the country.
Last year Creighton's opponents were 432-253, and that .631 winning percentage made it the 11th-toughest nationally.
In 2015 Creighton faced the nation's eighth-toughest schedule per the NCAA, with foes going 466-260 (.642) overall.
Just how tough was Creighton's non-conference schedule? When it concluded, eight of CU's 11 foes were nationally ranked. Two of the exceptions were Pitt (2nd round NCAA in 2016) and Belmont (OVC favorite in 2017).
This is the fifth straight season that Creighton has played at least four non-conference matches against teams ranked in the preseason top-25 poll.
Nine of Creighton's final 10 non-conference matches this season were against teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in the Aug. 28 top-25 poll. The lone exception to that group, Belmont, is a club that was picked to win the Ohio Valley Conference.
Rank & File
Creighton owns three victories over ranked teams this fall, having already toppled No. 3 Washington, No. 13 Kentucky and No. 7 Kansas.
It marks the first time that Creighton has beaten three ranked teams in the same season.
Through matches of October 15, the only other teams with more wins over ranked teams are Nebraska, Minnesota, Florida, Stanford, Texas, UNI and USC.
Creighton, Michigan State, Penn State, USC, Nebraska and Minnesota are the only teams with three or more top-13 wins this fall.
Wins Team Top 25 Victims
7 Nebraska #2, 3, 7, 11, 11, 14, 16
6 Minnesota #5, 7, 11, 16, 20, 22
4 Florida #1, 5, 16, 19
4 Northern Iowa #10, 18, 19, 19
4 USC #6, 7, 11, 16
4 Stanford #12, 16, 19, 25
4 Texas #9, 17, 18, 23
3 Creighton #3, 7, 13
3 BYU #16, 17, 21
3 Kansas #13, 17, 18
3 Michigan State #1, 5, 7
3 Notre Dame #21, 23, 24
3 Oregon #5, 15, 23
3 UCLA #11, 20, 22
3 Kentucky #1, 18, 23
3 Penn State #1, 4, 10
3 Washington #13, 15, 25
3 Wisconsin #4, 11, 20
Top 25 Jays
Creighton is in the top 25 of the AVCA poll for the 15th straight week, a streak that started on Oct. 31, 2016.
Nationally, that's the 16th-longest active streak, as seen below:
Consecutive Active Weeks in AVCA Top 25
Streak Team Current Rank
519 Stanford 2
519 Nebraska 7
436 Penn State 1
409 Florida 4
233 Washington 14
213 Texas 3
68 Wisconsin 9
67 BYU 8
55 UCLA 13
39 Kansas 11
38 Minnesota 6
24 San Diego 18
22 Oregon 15
19 Kentucky 6
18 Utah 12
15 Creighton 16
3 Weeks, 3 Titles, 3 Different MVP's
Creighton won a tournament title in each of the first three weekends of the season, with a different MVP each time.
Marysa Wilkinson was honored as MVP when Creighton won the Husky Invitational on Aug. 25-26.
Lydia Dimke was honored as MVP when Creighton won the Bluejay Invitational on Sept. 1-2.
Jaali Winters was honored as MVP when Creighton won the Kansas Invitational on Sept. 8-9.
In addition to Wilkinson, Dimke and Winters, Taryn Kloth, Megan Ballenger and Brittany Witt have also earned All-Tournament Team honors this fall.
Year-By-Year In Non-Conference Play
Creighton finished non-conference play with a 7-4 record, its most wins since 2013 when it opened 9-3.
Creighton Volleyball went 3-3 against ranked non-conference teams this season. Before this fall, CU had been 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
Non-Conference Records, By Year, Under Booth
Year Non-Con W-L vs. Ranked Non-Con Final W-L
2003 3-8 0-0 12-18
2004 8-2 0-1 18-11
2005 6-5 0-3 16-14
2006 8-3 0-1 21-10
2007 6-5 0-3 21-10
2008 3-5 0-3 18-9
2009 3-8 0-3 14-17
2010 5-5 0-1 21-12
2011 5-7 0-1 17-14
2012 9-2 0-1 29-4
2013 9-3 1-2 23-9
2014 7-6 0-5 25-9
2015 6-7 1-4 27-9
2016 6-6 0-4 29-7
2017 7-4 3-3 TBD
Wilkinson Moving Up Blocks List
Marysa Wilkinson is in the top-10 in Creighton's record book in both total blocks and block assists.
Career Total Blocks
Name Sets BS BA Tot. Years
1. Jessica Houts 451 73 536 609 2005-09
2. Kelli Browning 424 55 547 602 2011-14
3. Lauren Smith 511 61 499 560 2013-16
4. Ashley Williams 359 100 347 447 2001-04
5. JoDe Cieloha 398 106 331 437 1994-97
6. Megan Bober 480 42 380 422 2009-12
7. Laurel Sanford 369 43 376 419 2008-11
8. Marysa Wilkinson 447 39 334 373 2014-Pr.
9. Melissa Walsh 394 46 320 366 1998-01
10. Kelly Goc 394 44 310 354 2004-07
Career Block Assists
Name Sets No. Years
1. Kelli Browning 424 547 2011-14
2. Jessica Houts 451 536 2005-09
3. Lauren Smith 511 499 2013-16
4. Megan Bober 480 380 2009-12
5. Laurel Sanford 369 376 2008-11
6. Ashley Williams 359 347 2001-04
7. Marysa Wilkinson 447 334 2014-Pr.
8. JoDe Cieloha 398 331 1994-97
9. Melissa Walsh 394 320 1998-01
10. Heather Thorson 402 313 2009-12
Better To Receive?
Creighton's defense has done its job in the last 14 matches, allowing just 20 aces in 975 serves received in that span.
For the season, Creighton has faced 1,321 serves and allowed just 35 service aces in 66 sets. By comparison, Creighton owns 79 aces in 1,513 serving attempts.
Below is a breakdown of those serve receptions in the last 14 matches:
# Statistic
975 Opponent Serves
625 Creighton sideouts (64.1%)
352 Creighton kill on first rally (36.1%)
20 Opponent aces (2.1%)
Reception Near-Perfection
Creighton has allowed just 35 aces in 66 sets played for a scant 0.53 aces per set average by its opponents.
The Bluejays have allowed 1.15 aces per set or less in each of the last 13 years, but this year is on pace to be the best mark by far, as seen below:
Fewest Aces Per Set Allowed
SAPS Against Year Team W-L
0.53 2017 14-5 so far
0.65 2008 18-9
0.88 2010 21-12
0.91 2012 29-4
0.92 2009 14-17
0.94 2013 23-9
0.95 2005 16-14
0.98 2015 27-9
0.99 2014 25-9
1.01 2016 29-7
League Opener Histories
A 3-1 win on Sept. 21 win over Georgetown improved Creighton to a 16-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 13-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 4-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and four straight wins.
Each of the last four times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016), the Bluejays went on to win both the regular-season and conference tournament titles, going a combined 68-4 in regular-season league action (and 8-0 in league tournament action) during those years.
In the 15 previous seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than 9-9 in league play and it owns a combined .719 (194-76) winning percentage in league matches.
In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Jays have had a losing record five times and it owns a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
In conference home openers, (including 2017) Creighton is 19-5 overall and 13-2 under Booth, with seven straight wins.
In league road openers (including 2017), Creighton is now 15-9 overall and 12-3 under Booth, with four straight wins.
Witt Honored By BIG EAST
Sophomore libero Brittany Witt was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on September 12th after helping Creighton Volleyball to the Kansas Invitational title.
Witt averaged 3.80 digs and 0.50 aces per set, earning All-Tournament Team honors, as Creighton went 2-1 against a field that featured two ranked opponents as well as preseason OVC favorite Belmont.
Witt had 14 digs and tied her career high with three aces against No. 17 Purdue to open the weekend. Later that day the Omaha native added eight digs and an ace as CU made quick work of Belmont.
Witt's best match of the weekend came in a win at #7 Kansas, where she owned 16 digs and an ace while handling the Jayhawks their first home sweep since 2011. Witt had nine scoops and served a pivotal 5-0 run that gave Creighton the lead for good in the first set. It was KU's first loss of the season in 10 contests.
Overall, Witt led a defensive unit that was aced just once in 10 sets (178 serve receptions) over the weekend.
No Mercy On The Schedule
Nine of Creighton's 11 non-conference opponents were getting top-25 votes at the time of the match, with six of them ranked.
In addition, all but Belmont (5-4) and Wichita State (7-2) had either 0 or 1 loss at the time of their match against Creighton, and all but an 0-1 Pitt team had a winning record.
Here's a look at the records at the time of each non-conference match against Creighton this season.
Team W-L
Saint Mary's 0-0
(RV) Pitt 0-1
#3 Washington 2-0
#13 Kentucky 3-0
#18 USC 3-1
(RV) Northern Iowa 4-1
#17 Purdue 6-0
Belmont 5-4
#7 Kansas 9-0
(RV) Wichita State 7-2
#19 Iowa State 7-1
Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won eight matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point. Three of those comeback wins have come against Wichita State.
On the other hand, Creighton is 305-2 under Booth when it reaches a match point opportunity, falling only when it wasted two match points on Sept. 4, 2010 to Iowa and two other match points on Nov. 1, 2013 in a loss to St. John's.
Surviving Match Points, Under Booth
Date Opponent MP(s) Faced Final Set 5
08/30/03 vs. McNeese State 13-14, 15-16 18-16
10/10/03 Wichita State 13-14 16-14
10/13/06 at Wichita State 12-14, 13-14, 14-15 17-15
09/11/07 at Drake 13-14, 14-15 17-15
08/26/11 vs. UTSA 12-14, 13-14 16-14
11/16/12 at Wichita State 13-14 16-14
09/20/15 Kansas State 23-24 (4th set) 15-13
11/20/15 at Georgetown 23-24, 26-27 (4th set) 15-7
Home Win Streak vs. Unranked Teams
Creighton has won 30 straight home matches against unranked teams dating to a Sept. 12, 2015 loss to Pacific.
4 x 5 For #1
Lydia Dimke did a little bit of everything in Creighton's 3-0 sweep of Northern Iowa on Sept. 2nd.
The senior setter had 29 assists, 10 digs, four blocks, four kills and four aces against the Panthers.
She's just the second player in CU history with four or more assists, digs, blocks, kills and aces in the same match, joining Melissa Weisensee (80 assists, 14 digs, 5 blocks, 5 kills, 4 aces) vs. Evansville on Nov. 2, 1996.
Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 102-93 in the 66 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 45-24 mark since the start of 2012. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 82-60 in 51 regular-season tournaments, including 12 titles.
Creighton had won just two of 16 regular-season tournaments prior to Booth's arrival.
This year marked the first time since 2004 that Creighton has won back-to-back regular-season tournament titles in the same season, and is also the first time Creighton has won three titles in the same regular-season.
No. 7 Ranking Was Best; Now 16th
Creighton opened the 2017 season ranked ninth in the preseason poll, then moved up to a program-best mark of seventh in the Aug. 28 poll.
Creighton dropped back to ninth after a 2-1 finish at the Bluejay Invitational, and is currently No. 16.
Being ranked in the preseason poll is no guarantee of future success, however. In the last nine seasons, only 161-of-225 teams (71.6 percent) would be in both the preseason and postseason AVCA Top 25 polls.
In that same time frame, all but 22 teams named in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament (90.2 percent).
Top 25 History
Creighton is 10-70 all-time against teams in the top-25 of the AVCA poll, but 5-4 since the start of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Creighton's season-opening win at No. 3 Washington is the highest-ranked team that the Bluejays has ever beaten, surpassing a win over No. 4 Kansas last December.
Creighton is 4-27 all-time against top-10 foes (4-20 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth).
Creighton lost its first 31 true road matches against top-25 foes, but has 'improved' to 4-34 after wins in the last three seasons at No. 23 North Carolina (2015), No. 4 Kansas (2016), No. 3 Washington (2017) and No. 7 Kansas (2017).
Creighton is 46-15 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 6-9 all-time against ranked teams when ranked itself. That marks improves to 2-0 when both Creighton and its opponent are ranked in the top 10.
Creighton's August 26th win over No. 3 Washington was the first match in program history that then-No. 9 Creighton and its opponent were both in the top-10 at the time of the match.
Since the start of the 2012 season, 24 of Creighton's 43 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 139-19 against unranked teams. Creighton has won 30 straight home matches over unranked teams.
Wilkinson Earns MVP; Honored By BIG EAST
Marysa Wilkinson was named MVP of the Husky Invitational on the opening weekend after averaging 2.90 kills and 1.50 blocks per set while hitting .397.
Wilkinson had 13 kills and five blocks on .571 hitting in the season-opening win vs. Saint Mary's, and closed the weekend with 11 kills, four blocks and .429 hitting in the win at No. 3 Washington.
Wilkinson was also honored as BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts.
(Now) Streakless In Seattle
Creighton's win at No. 3 Washington on August 26th was historic for a number of reasons.
It was Washington's first regular-season loss in non-conference play since Sept. 13, 2008, snapping a streak of 81 straight victories.
It was Washington's first regular-season loss in non-conference play at home since Sept. 1, 2001, snapping a streak of 45 straight victories.
It was also Washington's first regular-season non-conference loss in fewer than five sets since Sept. 7, 2002, a stretch that covered 143 matches.
Washington had never lost a home match in the month of August (going 16-0), and had not lost in the month of August since August 31, 2006.
Creighton had been 0-8 in history against teams ranked in the top-3 nationally, meaning the third-ranked Huskies were the Bluejays highest-ranked victim in program history.
Sweep, Chalk, Jayhawk
Creighton handed Kansas a rare home loss on Sept. 9th, topping the Jayhawks 25-20, 25-16, 29-27.
It was the first time that Kansas was swept at home since Sept. 28, 2011, a span of 89 home matches.
Kansas had won 16 straight regular-season non-conference matches before that evening.
Since October 10, 2014, Kansas is 0-2 at home against Creighton and 39-2 at home against everyone else as of October 20, 2017.
All-Region Picks Return
Creighton had five All-Region picks, tied for third-most nationally, in 2016.
Creighton's four first-team choices trailed only Nebraska (6) and Florida (5) and were equal to Kansas, Minnesota and Wisconsin for third-most nationally.
Creighton is the only team with five All-Region returners for 2017.
School 2016 All-Region 2017 returners
Nebraska 6 3
Minnesota 6 3
Creighton 5 5
Florida 5 4
Kansas 5 4
UCLA 5 2
Wisconsin 5 2
Kentucky 4 4
Some Fab Freshmen
Including Naomi Hickman on August 25th, Creighton has started eight different true freshmen in a season opener in the last eight years, and 14 such players since 2000.
Since 2000, the only true freshmen to start CU's season-opener have been Brittany Coleman (2003), Carolyn Decker (2004), Korie Lebeda (2005), Allie Oelke (2007), Brooke Boggs (2009), Heather Thorson (2009), Julianne Mandolfo (2010), Katie Neisler (2011), Michelle Sicner (2011), Melanie Jereb (2012), Ashley Jansen (2012), Jess Bird (2013), Jaali Winters (2015) and Naomi Hickman (2017). In addition, CU also started redshirt freshmen Lauren Smith (2013) and Brittany Lawrence (2015), as well as transfers Maggie Baumert (2014) and Lydia Dimke (2016) in season-openers.
Seven of those women (Coleman, Decker, Lebeda, Oelke, Mandolfo, Sicner and Jereb) went on to land a spot on the MVC's All-Freshman Team (the BIG EAST has no such team). Winters was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2015, while Dimke was named BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2016.
Coaching Them Up
Lydia Dimke became Creighton's first setter in six seasons to start the opening match of the season in consecutive seasons.
Megan Bober was CU's Opening Day setter in 2012 vs. UCF before Michelle Sicner took over in the 2013 lid-lifter vs. BYU. In 2014 Maggie Baumert started the opener at setter against Lipscomb, while Kenzie Crawford got the call versus Miami (Ohio) in 2015. Last year Dimke started against Wichita State in the opener, then repeated at that spot vs. Saint Mary's this fall.
Bober had owned the distinction of being Creighton's last setter to start consecutive season-openers, having done so all four years from 2009-12.
The revolving door at setter hasn't hurt the team in that time, as each of those previous five seasons ended in the NCAA Tournament, and four of them saw Creighton win conference titles.
Statistically Speaking
Creighton finished last season ranked first in the nation with 1,868 kills, third nationally with 1,722 assists and fourth with 14.59 kills per set.
Individually, Lydia Dimke ranked second nationally with 1,454 assists, just 11 behind the 1,465 by Minnesota's Samantha Seliger-Swenson.
Set 1 Result = Match Result
Creighton is 254-28 (.901) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 51-130 (.282) under Booth when it drops the first set.
Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 75-1 in its last 76 home matches when taking a 1-0 lead, losing only on Sept. 12, 2015 to Pacific.
Last year's team was 24-4 when winning the first set and 5-3 when losing the first set.
This year's team is 13-0 when winning the first set and 1-5 when dropping the first set.
Dating back to Sept. 22, 2016, Creighton has won 32 straight matches at all sites when winning the first set.
Production Returns
Creighton returns 11-of-15 letterwinners to the court from last season, including five starters and libero Brittany Witt.
From last year's team, only Jess Bird, Mac Conlon, Amanda Foje and Lauren Smith are not back.
Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Assists 1697 (98.5%) 25 (1.5%)
Digs 1943 (95.0%) 103 (5.0%)
Aces 151 (86.8%) 23 (13.2%)
Kills 1501 (80.4%) 367 (19.6%)
Matches Started 173 (80.1%) 43 (19.9%)
Points 1848.0 (79.9%) 466.0 (20.1%)
Blocks 139 (51.1%) 133 (48.9%)
More Schedule Notes
Creighton played five non-conference matches against teams that were in the top-26 of the preseason AVCA coaches poll. That's tied for the most of any team in the nation.
The Bluejays meet up with No. 3 Washington, No. 8 Kansas, No. 14 Kentucky, No. 25 Purdue and the top receiving vote-getter, USC.
Other teams that had five non-conference matches against the preseason top-26 are Loyola Marymount, Northern Iowa, Florida, Marquette, San Diego and Utah.
All-Around Excellence
Last winter Creighton reached the Sweet 16 not only in women's volleyball, but in men's soccer too.
Creighton joined Stanford, Washington and North Carolina as the only four schools with a Sweet 16 in both sports in 2016.
In 2015, Creighton and Ohio State were the only teams to reach the Sweet 16 in the same two sports.
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 49-27 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That's impressive since Creighton had never finished a season with a winning record in fifth sets prior to Booth's arrival.
Creighton has won nine of its last 12 true road matches to go five sets, including wins in 2012 over league rivals Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Missouri State, wins in 2013 at Denver and at Wichita State, wins in 2014 at Butler and at St. John's, a win at Georgetown in 2015, and an NCAA Tournament win at No. 4 Kansas in 2016.
It's also worth noting that Creighton is 11-3 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Below is a list of Creighton's record in five-set matches on a yearly basis:
Year Set 5 W-L Total W-L
1994 0-2 5-20
1995 0-2 11-19
1996 2-6 9-19
1997 3-5 15-13
1998 2-3 7-18
1999 3-3 13-15
2000 3-3 16-12
2001 1-1 14-13
2002 1-3 3-23
2003 5-1 12-18
2004 4-0 18-11
2005 3-1 16-14
2006 4-2 21-10
2007 2-0 21-10
2008 2-3 18-9
2009 1-4 14-17
2010 3-3 21-12
2011 5-2 17-14
2012 4-1 29-4
2013 3-2 23-9
2014 3-2 25-9
2015 5-2 27-9
2016 4-3 29-7
2017 1-1 14-5
Total 64-55 398-310
Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Creighton's 2016 club beat 10 teams that appeared in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
The schedule figures to be just as daunting in 2017, as CU plays 11 matches against 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifiers. CU is 5-5 so far this season against such teams.
After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 67-89 since.
Year W-L vs. Previous Season NCAA Teams
1994 0-4
1995 0-2
1996 0-2
1997 0-3
1998 0-5
1999 2-4
2000 0-4
2001 1-6
2002 0-5
2003 0-3
2004 2-2
2005 0-6
2006 4-6
2007 4-9
2008 6-8
2009 1-11
2010 4-7
2011 2-6
2012 8-3
2013 6-6
2014 4-5
2015 11-5
2016 10-7
2017 5-5
TOTAL 70-124
TOTAL Under Booth 67-89
Marian Pipeline
This is the 15th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as junior Kelsey O'Connell and sophomore Brittany Witt return.
Each of the last six years, Creighton's year-end leader in digs has been a player that attended Marian.
Interestingly, the Bluejays had never had a volleyball player from Marian between 1994-2002. Here's a look at Creighton's pipeline of players from Marian.
2017: Kelsey O'Connell, Brittany Witt
2016: Kelsey O'Connell, Brittany Witt
2015: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen, Kelsey O'Connell
2014: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2013: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2012: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2011: Julianne Mandolfo
2010: Lisa Greisch, Julianne Mandolfo
2009: Lisa Greisch
2008: Emily Crowley, Korie Lebeda
2007: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2006: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2005: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2004: Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2003: Emily Greisch
Five Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons. They are the first Creighton women's team in any sport to make five straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
At Home On The Road
Creighton owns five wins away from home in the last two NCAA Tournaments. Nationally, that's the most in the nation, one more than Hawai'i, Nebraska and Stanford, and two more than Florida State.
Creighton, Florida State, Hawai'i, Texas, Washington and Purdue are the only six schools with at least one road/neutral win in both the 2015 and 2016 NCAA Tournaments.
3 Straight BIG EAST Tourney Titles
Creighton won a third straight BIG EAST Championship title last year, becoming the first to do so since Louisville won three straight titles from 2008-10.
It was Creighton's fifth straight league tournament title game appearance dating to the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference title.
No team has won four straight BIG EAST Volleyball Championships since Notre Dame from 1995-98.
20 x 5
Last year's 29-7 mark was the fifth straight year the Bluejays have reached 20 wins, and eighth time overall.
When Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, Creighton's modern day school record for wins in a season was 16.
Creighton is one of 19 schools with five straight seasons of 20+ wins (entering 2017). That list features American, BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, UTSA, Washington, Western Kentucky, Wichita State.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Four members of the Creighton Volleyball program gained valuable experience this summer while travelling the world.
Libero Brittany Witt went to Thailand in May, playing with USA Volleyball's top collegiate team.
In June, Taryn Kloth was one of 36 women to train with USA Volleyball's at a premier club event in Minneapolis, Minn. Kloth was the only player in the event with 10 or more kills in each match.
A pair of Bluejays also met up in an unlikely setting in July...Pula, Croatia. Jaali Winters represented USA Volleyball while Jaclyn Taylor played for BP Midwest at the European Global Challenge. Winters' team won the event, while the only two losses by Taylor's team both came to Winters team.
Creighton will meet the following players in 2017 that at least one Bluejay played with this summer:
Name Team CU Teammate
Alyssa Schultejans Kansas State Kloth
Stephanie Williams Pitt Kloth
Kylee Levers Pitt Taylor
Courtney Schwan Washington Winters
Kaz Brown Kentucky Witt
Olivia Dailey Kentucky Kloth
Ashley Evans Purdue Kloth
Brooke Peters Purdue Kloth
Sherridan Atkinson Purdue Kloth
Madison Rigdon Kansas Witt
Kelsie Payne Kansas Winters
Monique Harris Iowa State Kloth
Jenna Rosenthal Marquette Winters
Brittany Maxwell DePaul Taylor
Bluejays On The Radio
Creighton has three upcoming broadcasts on local radio in 2017 that will air on KZOT 1180 AM. Below is a list of the upcoming broadcast schedule:
Oct. 22 1180 AM KZOT Seton Hall
Nov. 4 1180 AM KZOT Marquette
Nov. 5 1180 AM KZOT DePaul
Automatic Bid x 3
Creighton is one of nine schools nationally to earn an automatic bid into the 2014, 2015 and 2016 NCAA Tournaments. That grouping includes New Hampshire, Dayton, Creighton, Coastal Carolina, Western Kentucky, American, Denver and BYU.
Of those teams, the only six schools to win a conference tournament in three consecutive campaigns have been American, Coastal Carolina, Creighton, Dayton, Denver and New Hampshire.
Last Year Summary
Creighton went 29-7 last year, tying a program-record for wins, while advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time. The Bluejays started the fall 6-6 before uncorking a school-record 23-match win streak.
CU became the first volleyball team in BIG EAST Conference history to finish 18-0, then became the first squad in NCAA Tournament history to open the postseason with three consecutive five-set victories.
Lydia Dimke was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and Third Team All-American, while Jaali Winters and Taryn Kloth were named All-BIG EAST and Honorable Mention All-Americans. Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth picked up BIG EAST Coach of the Year, AVCA East Region Coach of the Year and VolleyballMag.com National Coach of the Year accolades.
Players Mentioned
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/ VolleyballWednesday, May 27
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